Engrave or Carve Text On Curved Surface | Part 4 in Text Effects | Blender Eevee & Cycles

This is Part-4 of a 7-part series on various text effects in Blender. In the previous part, we have learned how to emboss or engrave a text on a flat surface. In this part, we will learn how to cut out a text, or carve a text on a round surface like a cylinder. Please watch the video for the complete tutorial. It will help if you first watch the previous parts given below. If you have any question on this tutorial, please leave your comment below.
𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬:
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝟏 👉 • Create Curved Text In ...
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝟐 👉 • Add Text To Any Curved...
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝟑 👉 • Engrave & Emboss Text ...
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝟓 👉 • Emboss Any Text On Cur...
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝟔 👉 • Neon Light or Neon Sig...
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝟕 👉 • Add Flickering Effect ...
𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 👉 / 5minutesblender
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 👉 donorbox.org/5-minutes-blender
==================================================
We have many more tutorials that can help you learn Blender like a professional. You can go through the following playlists for the relevant topics:
👇 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬:
If you are absolutely new to Blender, take this foundation course.
• Blender Foundation Course
👇 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝟏𝟐 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫:
• Blender Foundation Cou...
👇 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 (𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬):
• Blender Tips & Tricks
👇 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬):
• Easy Models For Beginners
👇 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬):
• Materials You Need In ...
👇 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬):
• Text Effects In Blender
👇 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫:
• Camera Movement & Sett...
👇 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬):
• Useful Lighting Setup ...
👇 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 & 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬:
• Rigid Body Physics in ...
👇 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 & 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬):
• Fire & Smoke Simulatio...
👇 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬):
• Fluid Simulation in Bl...
👇 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬):
• Mastering Blender
If you want to watch our own creations in Blender, you can also check out the following channel where we regularly upload videos on Animation, Space Exploration and AI.
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤: / @thealienworld
Background Music by Frankum (freesound.org/people/frankum/)
#Blender #Animation #3dText

[@5MinutesBlender]

If you liked this tutorial, please consider making a small donation, it will help us! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 👉 donorbox.org/5-minutes-blender

[@amazinglyrics8855]

Thanks a lot

[@solaoska9676]

Thank you very much for your understanding.　　　　　OSKA from Japan

[@gustavoalvarez3335]

Muchas gracias que excelente tutorial, saludos.

[@5MinutesBlender]

I don't understand Spanish, but google translate helped me. Thank you so much for your visit. I am extremely grateful for your appreciation. Greetings mate!

[@rekkefolge4996]

Gracias me arreglaste varias horas de trabajo

[@5MinutesBlender]

Encantado de saber eso! Glad to know that! Cheers 💝💝

[@benben2846]

Thank's ^^ from France

[@5MinutesBlender]

Thank you too! 💝

[@blenderartist8367]

I needed. Thanks

[@5MinutesBlender]

Glad I could help 😊

[@carolineingles9153]

Thanks for another excellent tutorial. I had one problem: when I used the Boolean modifier my cylinder disappeared. I found that, on the modifier settings, under Solver Options, I needed to check the Self box. Then it worked properly.

[@5MinutesBlender]

Good tip shared. It may help someone 👍 I did not encounter this in this particular tutorial, but I did face it in another place and the solution was the same. So, thanks for your helpful input 💝

[@lastuvthe]

Great tutorial. How come you created an empty and went through all those steps when it seems that you could've just added a shrinkwrap modifier to the text and then play with the offset to get either your engraved or embossed look on the cylinder. You could then apply the shrinkwrap and move on to add the boolean modifier to the cylinder. Would this work?

[@5MinutesBlender]

Good question. It will work. But it may not look as perfect as this one, if your text has a good thickness. I tested several combinations and then decided to present this method. There are some limitations with Shrinkwrap. It tries to "project" or "wrap" the source object (text) according to the shape of the target object. That is something, and bending of text is a different thing. When you bend the text using an empty, it does not get distorted, different parts of the text will still stay in the same proportion. But with Shrinkwrap, this proportion gets distorted. Sometimes it may be immediately visible, sometimes maybe not. The extra pain that we took by adding the empty & the simple deform modifier, will pay in a long run. But your suggestion is also good, and can work in many cases. So thanks for pointing it out 👍

[@jegaveirneynamasiado]

I made sure the empty and text are both in the same place. When I bend my text, it doesn't curve back. Rather it becomes shaped like a bow-tie, with the front and back intersecting eachother.

[@5MinutesBlender]

Short tip: Try to add a rotation of 90 degrees to your empty in the Z-axis, keeping everything else same as before. It may work. Long answer: The issue you faced usually happens because of inconsistent rotations of the text and the empty, and their placements on a specific axis. If you follow the tutorial verbatim, it won't be an issue. We have set the text with X-rotation & Z-rotation both 90 degrees. Also, the text is moved along the X-axis, it is facing the positive X-axis. With this, the empty is given the same displacement in X-axis, and most importantly, the X-rotation is 90 degrees and Z-rotation is zero. If you do the same setup, but along the Y-axis (the text facing the positive or the negative Y-axis), it won't work - instead, it will give you that bow-tie look. You need to then use X-rotation 90 degrees and Z-rotation also 90 degrees on the empty, while your text will only have X-rotation as 90 degrees. Initially it might seem difficult, but once you get a hang of it, it will become very easy. If nothing works, remove all rotations from the empty, and try each different combinations of angles (making each single direction as 90, and then making each pair of them as 90). There are only 6 combinations possible, and one of them will surely work. This is a trial-n-error method, but it does not take more than a minute to try.

[@jegaveirneynamasiado]

@@5MinutesBlender Yep, it's working now thanks.

[@mektalit]

aqui aprenderé blender y de paso ingles. habla muy bien XD

[@5MinutesBlender]

Muchas gracias! Thank you so much!

[@pvdl11]

Nice tutorial. BUt what is the solution if we want a subdivision model? I.e. a model with subdivision modifier enabled but not applied yet like in your process?

[@5MinutesBlender]

Hi, you can keep the subdivision modifier for the cylinder in draft state, no need to apply it. Everything will still work perfectly producing the same result. But for the text object, obviously you have to apply the modifiers (it gets auto-applied when you convert the text into a mesh). I have tested this. Please let me know if you are getting a different result.

[@pvdl11]

​@@5MinutesBlender What I mean is that your result is a sharp cut out that look 2 dimensional (only with depth). If you model text with subdivision (loop cuts and all) it look 3 dimensional with nice bevels and a smooth flow (even if font is sharp/bold) (looks great for rendering and stuff like ads etc). Your result would never be sufficient for a product ad with close ups of the text engraving for example (its fine for 3d printing only). The problem is that its really hard to add all the necessary loop cuts (to direct subdivision modifier) without distorting shading and curve of the cylinder (or curved surface of object you are trying to engrave on). So what I mean is that you created something which looks like a rather simplistic "2d with depth" engraving rather than a really sexy subdivision modelled engraving that looks 3d and is realistic as it has smoother transitions at the edges of the font letters (even sharp font has that in the real world). I think if you ever created a subdivision model for text it will be obvious what the difference is. Again: for me the big problem is that its easy to do the subdiv text model on a flat surface. But really hard on a curved surface (shading and distortion of curve problems). Even more difficult if the curved surface/object has a mesh that not made up of perfect squares but longish rectangles. Would be interested if you know what I mean and if you have a solution. I have found not one video on this on youtube (probably because its a really tough one to do). Again flat surface I think you dont even have to bother with a tutorial, as thats very easy. But curved surface is the holy grail and a typical problem, as most products are curved. Thanks for your reply.

[@sesib9157]

I have a little problem, i followed all the tutorial and it came out great, but when i put it in Ultimaker Cura, the letters aren't carved, i don't know if i did something wrong. Either way thx for the tutorial

[@5MinutesBlender]

I just checked it now. I exported the blend file of this tutorial from Blender to STL format. Then I opened that STL file with a 3D viewing software, and it was perfect. So I can offer two suggestions in your case, not sure if they can solve the issue at your end. First, apply all the modifiers and hide the objects that are no longer needed. Basically clean it up appropriately for the final output. Secondly, if not using the STL format, please use that for the export, and verify the output. You can use the default 3D Viewer software on windows, or take help from any online STL viewer, there are many. If there is an issue in this part, the problem is on the export side in Blender. Otherwise, if this output looks correct, the issue maybe on your 3D printing software, Ultimaker Cura in this case. Whether or not it solves the actual issue, we will at least know which part of the problem we need to focus to.

[@ahanlee7738]

if you working with X axis on left & right side, you don't need rotate the text for Z axis onetime

[@5MinutesBlender]

Yes, correct! It depends on the initial orientation 👍

[@ahanlee7738]

@@5MinutesBlender and when bend also no need rotate empty to X axis

[@Zhina-Life]

Why when I engrave it, the area around the text becomes deformed? Like it’s stretched out.

[@5MinutesBlender]

Maybe due to the bevel effect present on your target object (cylinder in this case) 🤔 Sorry for the late response, my machine was under repair and I just got it back.

[@moldyversemoulds9743]

hi, so you type a word and it generates a symbol? if so, its not working for me?

[@5MinutesBlender]

Please check your font. The default font in Blender does not support many symbols. You must use a Unicode font that supports symbols and that is understood by Blender. Please try to use the exact font as shown in the tutorial (Font file name: seguisym.ttf), it should work. There are few other fonts, that you can also use for symbols. It depends on which symbol you want to use. If you paste the symbol here, I can suggest you which font to use.

[@moldyversemoulds9743]

Unfortunately not working for me. I have followed your instructions to the letter! No worries, your previous tutorials have helped me a lot. Keep up the good work. Ill figure something out! Be safe.

[@tutebonecco8768]

@@moldyversemoulds9743 first, sorry about my english, its wasn't my natal language. In a lot of ttf. they got an heart pressing keys "alt+numpad3" you need to know the ascii code :D have a nice day and greetings from Argentina!

[@omarzidan4055]

for some reason, the bending is not working like the video shoes for me, it is just adding more thickness to one side of the text and making the other side thinner

[@5MinutesBlender]

Hi, this is most probably due to a difference in the viewport axis orientation in your case and mine. Flip your rotation axis (x-axis vs y-axis) and it should work. If not, please check the orientation of your empty. Rotation can be sometimes really tricky with simple deform modifier that we used here. If you are interested, you can look at our Bend Geometry node that makes any kind of rotation super easy. It is a product you need to purchase: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZyrhYimfMSbiaM

[@omarzidan4055]

@@5MinutesBlender hey, indeed it was because of the difference in the viewport axis. Thank you :)

[@5MinutesBlender]

@@omarzidan4055 Great! Glad to know that you resolved it 👍

[@dahliramawinter7793]

@ 6:17, when I click the eye to see the engraving, my shape disappears. Yes, I've made sure to select the text.

[@5MinutesBlender]

So which shape disappears, the text or the object on which you are trying to engrave the text? Either way, the Boolean operator can sometimes produce an incorrect result like this if the objects are irregular-shaped. You can try the Fast / Exact options alternatively, and also within the Exact option you have two sub-options, turn them on one-at-a-time and check if the problem gets resolved. If nothing works, you can send your blend file to us, we will investigate and suggest the right thing. You can get our contact details in the About section of this channel. Thank you!

[@dahliramawinter7793]

@@5MinutesBlender OMG, thank you! I'm trying to 3D print something for my Niece for her up coming Bday. I had followed the steps. Where can I send the file to?

[@5MinutesBlender]

@@dahliramawinter7793 You can get our contact details in the About section of this channel. Email is preferred for blender files. Thank you!

[@dahliramawinter7793]

@@5MinutesBlender Soon as I'm out of work, I'll get it over to you!

[@solaoska9676]

Can you answer me? I have one question. Material of Cylinder is green, but color of cylinder in screen is orange. Why?　Sorry for the poor English. OSKA from japan

[@5MinutesBlender]

Good question 👍 The material of the cylinder is light-green. But to illuminate it further, we have added a red color Emission object (a second cylinder) inside this cylinder. The combined color is showing as orange. An irradiance volume is used in order to first bake the light from the second cylinder (inner cylinder) - this technique is known as Indirect Lighting. Then this inner cylinder is made hidden. So in the output, we don't see any second cylinder, but the lighting effect is intact & visible. This entire thing is done just for a decoration purpose. It has no relation to the actual tutorial, so I did not get into those details. And by the way, your English is sufficiently perfect 👍🙂